Sanctuary - A McRoll in th REAL World Story
by Mari217
Summary: Another family outing results in an unexpected new friendship. (Part 7 of the REAL McRollathon)


_Sammy & Ilna What a blast this REAL World Marathon has been! Such fun I'm already looking forward to the next one! You are two of the most generous souls I've ever known and I'm so thankful for you both._

 _REALMcRollers your support of the marathon, the REAL World and Steve & Catherine makes us happier than you'll ever know. Thank you all for a wonderful first year! _

_Nonna hugs to everyone! And a nod to all the fabulous grandmas out there, whatever they're called._

* * *

 **Sanctuary**

 **Animal Sanctuary, Tarrytown, NY  
11:00 a.m.**

Since Joan - and everyone else - had such a wonderful time at the zoo, Elizabeth and Catherine thought a trip to the local sanctuary for animals would be another fun outing. It was right in town, and featured a program that included rescued farm and domestic animals. Mary readily agreed and while Grandma Ang opted for the senior center, deciding the uneven terrain wasn't the best idea for her to spend several hours navigating, the family promised plenty of photos.

They had arrived and started with a stop to see the chickens, with Joan waving at the free range birds that were pecking at the feed she gleefully tossed them.

"Mama! Quack?" Joan laughed and clapped.

"No, baby, those are chickens, what's the chicken say?" Mary prompted.

"Cwuck!" She nodded and turned to Catherine. "Chit-ken _cwuck_ , Ann Caf," she explained seriously, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at her daughter's absolute delight in being instructed by a two year old.

"Got it. Thank you, Joan. Chickens say _cluck_ , right?" Catherine was kneeling next to Joan and Mary was on her other side.

"Chit-ken Cwuck. See?" Joan pointed with a nod. " _See_ Unc Teeve?"

Steve bent to lift her and grinned. "I see." He turned to his sister with a grin. "Do _you_ see? _Very_ smart. Excellent comprehension. And she wanted to explain it to Catherine." He popped Joan into her stroller and began to push it towards the next area while Mary rolled her eyes at Catherine and the two women exchanged a smile.

A few minutes later, as they rounded a corner, Joan looked at Catherine from her stroller and said, "Ann Caf, up!" with her arms outstretched.

Catherine smiled as Steve stopped pushing. She bent to unbuckle her niece and lift her from the seat.

"Look at that. One look from those eyes and Auntie Catherine and Uncle Steve will carry you anywhere," Mary said with a grin. "Seriously, Catherine, let her walk when she gets too heavy."

"It's okay." Catherine turned to Joan, "I can hike with a fifty pound pack; you're a lot more fun to carry. You wanna hang out with me for a little bit, and then you can walk like a big girl?" When Joan nodded, Catherine kissed her head, thrilled anytime her niece wanted to interact with her. "Good deal. What are we gonna see? Goats and ponies and cows and horses and ducks …"

"Ducks!" Joan said.

"Ducks! What do the ducks say?"

"Quack!"

"Yes! Good girl. Tell Uncle Steve what the ducks say." She pointed at Steve.

"Duck _quack_ , Unc Teeve!"

"That's my girl!" Steve swooped down to kiss her little cheek and she giggled. He grinned and kissed Catherine's cheek, too, before straightening and placing a hand on her back as they walked.

Elizabeth beamed at her husband when Steve moved even closer to Catherine, draping his arm around her shoulders as he said, "Look, Joanie, what's _that_?" He pointed to a black and grey pigmy goat that was wandering their way.

" _Ohhh_." Joan's eyes widened. Swiveling to see Mary, she said, "See, Mama?!" and clapped.

"That's a goat, Baby. Can you say _goat_?"

"Goad!"

"Gooooat," Mary repeated slowly.

"Gooooat!" Joan said and laughed with delight when all the adults clapped.

"Down, Caf, see goat!" She squirmed in Catherine's arms. "Goat, Ann Caf!"

As Catherine got down and perched Joan on her knee, a college-aged volunteer addressed the group. "Hi everyone, I'm Caroline. Oh! Doctor Rollins! Hi. And this _has_ to be your daughter, _wow_ you two look alike. Hello."

"Thank you. Hi, I'm Catherine," she greeted the smiling girl.

"I was in your mom's calc class. She totally saved me. Helped me keep my 4.0. I'm Caroline Winters."

Elizabeth smiled. "You saved yourself, you just needed a little positive reinforcement. Caroline, this is my family," she introduced them, "and this …" She pointed to Joan, "is my great-niece, Joan. She loves animals, don't you, Sweetie?"

"You like the animals, huh, Cutie pie? That's Billie Jean." She grinned at Elizabeth. "Billy goat, get it?"

"That's adorable."

Caroline waved at Joan. "I love animals just like you, and I'm going to be a vet. Maybe you'll be a vet someday, Joan, and take care of animals?" She bent and handed Catherine some feed. "If you hold your palm open, most of our hooved animals will come right up and nibble."

Catherine did just that and whispered, "Shh, easy, don't scare the goat," to Joan who watched in absolute awe as the little animal ate from Catherine's hand. When she was finished, Catherine scratched the goat's neck like she would a dog's. Joan gently touched the coarse fur, quickly withdrew her hand, and then patted Billie Jean with a huge smile while Mary videoed the whole thing.

"Good job, Joan. Billie Jean's a nice goat, isn't she?" Catherine said and smoothed the toddler's hair. When the goat began to wander off, Joan said, "More, goat."

Mary told her, "The goat has to go take her nap now, her mommy's waiting. Can you say, bye, bye to Billie?"

"Bye bye." Joan waved.

Catherine stood and hoisted Joan back onto her hip. Just then, a medium sized black and tan dog came padding up to Caroline. "Hey, Smokey, good boy." She bent and kissed him on the head. "This is one of our rescues. We do adoption events several times a month. We placed over two hundred homeless dogs last year."

"He looks like Salty," Elizabeth observed, her eyes crinkling in a smile as she scratched the friendly dog behind the ears. "Only he's a little lighter." She turned to Catherine, "Doesn't he, Sweetheart?"

"He does, actually." Catherine glanced at Caroline as she knelt to pet the dog. "He looks like Salty, the wonderful dog we had when I was a kid. How old is Smokey?" she asked.

"About two. He was found as a stray. Smokey's great. Super mellow and really smart."

"He seems so small compared to our Cammie." She grinned as the dog nuzzled her face. "Doesn't he, Steve?"

Steve nodded and when Caroline inquired, "What kind of dog is Cammie?" Mary answered, "Part pony," with a smile. "Seriously, she outweighs me."

"She's a Shepherd - Bernie mix," Steve confirmed. "She's brilliant _and_ she's in great shape, we swim or run her every day."

"Peace out, big brother," Mary snorted. "I didn't call my furry niece fat."

Caroline smiled, she was clearly used to hearing about visitors' pets. "That's a great mix, actually. Smart, sweet, loyal." She looked between the siblings. "And big."

They chatted a few minutes before the group began to move on, and Smokey fell into step between Joseph and Catherine. When Joseph bent to run a hand over his back, a flash of deja vu had Catherine grinning.

"He's a little thin. Was he on the street?" Joseph inquired as the dog leaned into his hand.

"Yes, Sir. Downtown. We don't think for long, though. He's in good health and his coat and teeth are good, too. He's thirty six pounds, our vet would like to see him at about forty."

The dog stopped, offered Joseph his paw and he took it, shaking, before he ruffled the short fur. When he stood and the group continued walking, Smokey followed.

"You guys enjoy your day. It was really nice meeting you all. Smokey will hang out for a minute then peel off. Our rescues have the run of the sanctuary during the day. They like to greet our guests."

Half an hour later, the family stopped at a bench while Mary took Joan to the restroom for a diaper change. The dog was still following along when Caroline came up to them again.

"Wow, he really likes you. He never stays longer than a few minutes with new visitors." She regarded Joseph, who was squatting to rub the dog's ears. "He's available, you know. We have adoption applications in the office if you're interested. I'd vouch for you to speed things up." She faced Catherine. "Professor Rollins is just the _best_ , her electives are always full."

Catherine said, "Thanks," proudly. She put an arm around her mom and kissed her cheek. "I think she's the best, too."

"That's really sweet." The girl grinned. "So, Doctor Rollins ... no pressure, but if you want, the applications are online, too." She glanced knowingly at Smokey and Joseph who were sitting inches apart. "I'll leave you to think," Caroline bubbled and walked off.

Catherine and Elizabeth exchanged a look.

Elizabeth smiled. "He likes us, Joseph."

Catherine walked over and ran a hand over her dad's shoulders as he looked up from petting his new friend. "I think this may be your new dog." She smiled at her mom. "I think you should seriously consider it, _Daddy_."

Joseph's smile encompassed his wife and daughter, but before he had time to answer, Mary returned, being led by Joan.

Joan lifted her arms to Steve, who picked her up. She pointed to the dog and said, "Dog. Cahmee. Dog!"

Steve grinned. "I think Joan agrees, Joseph."

"Yeah, Dad, she said she wants you and mom to have a dog, like Cammie."

Joseph smiled. "She did, huh? Looks like you won the ladies over, didn't you, Buddy?" he said, and the dog did a little happy twirl.

"Cammie does that," Steve noted. "When she's excited or happy. Right, Cath?"

"She does. C'mon, Dad." She linked an arm through his. "Let's go fill out the application." She turned to Steve. "You guys go ahead, we'll meet you in a little while."

Joseph shrugged. "When did I give myself away?"

Elizabeth smirked. "About sixty seconds after Caroline said he was available. You lit up like a Christmas tree." She kissed his cheek and pointed in the direction of the office. "Go with your daughter. Fill out the application to adopt this adorable little guy, and I'll take these three to see the ponies." Her smile was as big as her husband's. "We'll meet you there."

Steve was kneeling to pet Smokey when Catherine clapped in delight at Elizabeth and Joseph's matching expressions. "Sweet! I _knew_ it." She grinned, kissed her dad's cheek, and turned to Steve. "You getting in good with my new brother, Commander?"

Steve snorted a laugh. "We're already friends. I'm just about to fill him in on who's _really_ in charge of his new family." He winked.

They all burst out laughing when the entire group said, "Grandma Ang," in unison.

Catherine gave Steve a blissful look as Smokey, happily following her and Joseph, took his first steps towards his forever home.

* * *

 _ **In honor of the Rollins' new dog, Smokey, don't forget to tell us your favorite Cammie moments in a review, email us, or tweet me mari21763. Cammie's waiting to hear from you!**_

 _ **A few of mine are:  
Cammie's first camping trip with Steve & Catherine, and  
Catherine building a shaded area on the deck complete with "Casa Cammie" sign so Cammie can have a comfy place to hang out with them.**_

 _ **There's so many because in case you haven't guesses, I love dogs :)**_

 _Keep track of all the REAL World stories on our Tumblr page - mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com_ _You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line._


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